ETC College Rankings Index lists CSUSM at No. 11

By Eric Breier

California State University San Marcos ranks No. 11 out of nearly 1,200 universities in the 2017 Educate To Career (ETC) College Rankings Index.

The rankings designate CSUSM as a 2017 Top 100 Best Value College, which applies to the first 100 colleges out of 1,195 in the ETC rankings.

CSUSM is the second-highest rated university in California behind only No. 1 UC Irvine and is one of four CSU schools in the top 100.

The ETC College Rankings Index is comprised of accredited four-year colleges with annual enrollments greater than 750 students. The Index analyzes data for almost 1,200 colleges, representing 96 percent of all students enrolled in four-year colleges.

ETC, a nonprofit established in 2013, focuses on students and improving their college-to-career outcomes through the development and dissemination of data and free online programs. ETC’s methodology utilizes data and analytics to rank schools by economic value created for their students.

“Using our outcome-focused methodology, the Index empirically determines the economic value added by each of the over 1,000 colleges ranked within our system -- unlike other rankings that rate colleges based on the academic caliber of their students,” said Michael Havis, president of ETC.

To ensure neutrality, ETC neither requests nor accepts data from colleges themselves, and retains a third party to produce the Index from data pulled from numerous publicly available sources.

ETC ranks colleges based on the added value that they bring to graduates in terms of the increase in employability and earnings that their grads derive from attending the college.

Building on an innovative 26-year history, California State University San Marcos is a forward-focused institution, dedicated to preparing future leaders, building great communities and solving critical issues. Located on a 304-acre hillside overlooking the City of San Marcos, it is the only public four-year comprehensive university serving North San Diego, Southwest Riverside and South Orange Counties.

The University enrolls over 14,000 students. With approximately 2,000 employees, the institution is a Great College to Work For® (The Chronicle of Higher Education). As a recipient of the annual HEED Award since 2014—a national honor recognizing U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion—CSUSM is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment.